Offseason In Review: Cincinnati Bengals

But last year’s 6-11 record and minus-78 point differential – the Bengals’ worst marks since 2020 – brought more disappointment and big-picture questions. Joe Burrow’s nine-game absence due to a particularly nasty bout of turf toe certainly played a role, but Cincinnati still lost two of his first three starts post-injury and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

The Bengals’ defense also had its worst showing of Taylor’s tenure, a potential sign that his decision to replace respected defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo with Al Golden in 2025 may have been premature. Taylor resisted any major coaching changes this year. He prioritized continuity on offense, while Tobin focused on restocking an abysmal defense that ranked bottom-three in points and yards allowed. 

Cincy brought in Super Bowl-winning defenders Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook to upgrade at edge rusher and safety, respectively. But no Bengals move was bigger than their pre-draft blockbuster trade for Dexter Lawrence. Will the Bengals’ offseason overhaul on defense be enough to snap their playoff drought and redirect Burrow’s prime toward the contender tier?

Trades:

• Acquired Dexter Lawrence from Giants in exchange for No. 10; signed DT to one-year, $28MM extension

The interior of the Bengals’ defensive line has been the defense’s most consistent weakness since Geno Atkins’ retirement at the start of the decade. After fielding the league’s worst rushing defense in 2025, the Bengals swung for the fences to land a dominant interior presence: Dexter Lawrence.

Lawrence tried and failed to secure an extension from the Giants in two straight offseasons, leading to a trade request in April. New York set a high price, dampening initial expectations surrounding a deal, after John Harbaugh labeled the All-Pro a centerpiece player for his team at the Combine. But just a few weeks after the request went public, the 28-year-old was on his way to Cincinnati in exchange for the Bengals’ first-round pick. 

Trading away a top-10 pick – which would have been the team’s highest selection since drafting Ja’Marr Chase fifth overall in 2021 – was wildly uncharacteristic for Tobin, who has been in his post since 1999. He had never before traded away a first-rounder for a player and has preferred to accumulate draft capital by parting ways with veterans and moving down during drafts. Plus, the famously frugal franchise would be on the hook for the remaining two years and $39MM on Lawrence’s contract, plus an extension that was expected to cost around $30MM per year. 

But with All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson departing in free agency, the Bengals saw in Lawrence a way to reestablish their run defense and revitalize their pass rush in one fell swoop. The seven-year veteran was coming off the least productive season of his career – just a half-sack and four tackles for loss – but his effectiveness may have been limited by a lingering elbow injury. In 2024, Lawrence posted career-high marks with nine sacks and eight TFLs, reaching his third straight Pro Bowl. He also received second-team All-Pro honors in the two years prior, during which he recorded a combined 12 sacks, 14 TFLs and 49 quarterback hits. 

Cincinnati also shared the perception this was a relatively weak draft class. The team was widely expected to go with a defensive player at No. 10, but the preceding eight picks were shrouded in uncertainty. With an unmatched ability to generate pressure as a nose, Lawrence’s potential to make an immediate impact compared favorably to potential selections — especially when factoring an underwhelming set of likely available defensive linemen. 

The 10th overall pick was still seen as an overpay by some – especially since no other team offered a first-rounder – but the Bengals made out like bandits with Lawrence’s contract. He accepted a one-year, $28MM extension without any guarantees outside of a $10MM signing bonus.

The eighth-year veteran received another $10MM roster bonus and will earn $11MM (up to $12MM) this season, but none of his 2027 or 2028 compensation is guaranteed. The deal quickly aged well, with five interior D-linemen signing for $30MM or more per year in the months since. 

Lawrence has taken up residence in the middle of the Bengals’ defensive line alongside fellow veteran offseason addition Jonathan Allen, giving the team arguably its best interior duo in franchise history.

Notable losses:

• Tycen Anderson, S
• Jake Browning, QB (nontendered as RFA)
• Noah Fant, TE
• Cody Ford, OL (released)
• Trey Hendrickson, DE
• Joseph Ossai, DE
• Cameron Sample, DE
• Geno Stone, S 
• Cam Taylor-Britt, CB

The Bengals paid Hendrickson just $33MM across 2023 and 2024 for a league-high 34 sacks. The balance tipped the opposite direction last year. After a raise to $29MM shortly before Week 1 ended a monthslong standoff, the 31-year-old had his worst season as a Bengal.

Hendrickson recorded four sacks, three tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits in his first five games before leaving the field in Week 6 with a back injury. He attempted to return after a one-game absence but was ultimately shut down for season-ending core muscle surgery. 

Hendrickson did not secure a no-tag clause in his 2025 contract adjustment, leaving that option open to the Bengals heading into the offseason. But they had a myriad of reasons to let sleeping dogs lie.

The relationship between player and club had clearly soured over the previous 18 months, largely over Cincinnati’s unwillingness to provide post-Year 1 guarantees in its offers to the accomplished pass rusher. A tag would have perpetuated that situation, likely leading to a prolonged standoff and/or another trade request. 

Complicating matters further was the price. The NFL sets the tag value for each position, but the collective bargaining agreement entitles players to 120% of their previous year’s pay if that number is higher. So while the standard defensive end franchise tag was worth $24.43MM this year, Hendrickson’s would have cost $34.8MM. That, along with his age, recent injuries, and discontent was more than enough to justify a parting of ways. The tag deadline came and went with no movement on Hendrickson’s contract.

The team may quickly regret its decision. Hendrickson received less interest than expected on the open market and ultimately signed a four-year, $112MM deal with the division-rival Ravens. His return to Cincinnati is scheduled for New Year’s Eve.

The Bengals also opted against another set of one-year deals for 2021 draftees Ossai and Sample. Ossai’s career-best season priced himself out of Cincinnati – he signed a three-year, $36MM deal with the Jets – while Sample’s continued lack of growth suggested he needed a change of scenery. The trio of losses off the edge raised defensive end to the top of the team’s offseason priorities.

The rest of the Bengals’ departures brought no surprises. For the most part, the team already had replacements in-house or would quickly find one in free agency. 

Taylor-Britt left as expected, reuniting with Anarumo in Indianapolis, following a rough 2025 that saw him benched before a Lisfranc fracture forced him onto season-ending IR. The arrival of veteran safety Bryan Cook also gave the Bengals a replacement for Stone.

On offense, Browning and Fant were rendered surplus to requirements by strong 2025 campaigns from Joe Flacco and Mike Gesicki. Retaining Browning would have required a restricted free agent tag worth $3.52MM, far too expensive after he lost his job to Flacco during the previous season.

Re-signings:

• Joe Flacco, QB: One year, $6MM ($4MM guaranteed)
• Dalton Risner, G: One year, $3.25MM ($1MM guaranteed)
• Jalen Davis, CB: One year, $1.58MM ($100K guaranteed)

The Bengals were comfortable letting most of their pending free agents hit the open market, but they made Flacco an early priority. 

The veteran quarterback started the first four games of the season in Cleveland before being traded to Cincinnati in Week 6 in a Day 3 pick swap. He took over for Jake Browning and started the Bengals’ next six games, averaging 272.7 passing yards per contest with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions – comparable numbers to Burrow in his seven starts. But Cincy’s defense surrendered 34 points per game in Flacco’s starts, leading to a 1-5 record and all but dooming the team’s playoff chances. 

Given Burrow’s injury history, the Bengals wisely moved to keep his backup in place for another year. The sides’ agreement moved the 41-year-old close to the top of the backup quarterback market. This is Flacco’s most lucrative contract since his Ravens extension from 2016. He had not played for more than $4.5MM since the Broncos shed that deal in 2020.

Cincinnati also prioritized continuity at guard by re-signing Risner. The former Broncos and Vikings starter joined the Bengals just before the 2025 regular season and served as crucial depth during the first half of the year, starting two games at each guard spot. By Week 12, he had taken over as the full-time starter at right guard, where he finished out the season and will remain in 2026. 

Davis, 30, seems poised to enter a regular season as a starter for the first time in his eight-year career. Davis has been a Bengal since 2020, primarily playing special teams while holding a depth slot role on defense. The 30-year-old corner first took over the starting nickel gig in the second half of the 2025 season, however, with Dax Hill moved to the outside following Cam Taylor-Britt’s season-ending injury. The Bengals never brought in major competition this offseason, and Davis looks to have emerged from training camp with the starting job still in hand.

Free agency additions:

• Boye Mafe, DE: Three years, $60MM ($19MM guaranteed)
• Bryan Cook, S: Three years, $40.25MM ($14MM guaranteed)
• Jonathan Allen, DT: Two years, $25MM ($10.5MM guaranteed)
• Kyle Dugger, S: One year, $1.4MM ($638K guaranteed)
• Ja’Sir Taylor, CB: One year, $1.22MM

The Bengals are rarely among the league’s most active teams in free agency, largely due to their refusal to offer guarantees beyond the first year of contracts. That pattern held true in 2026, with the Bengals making just three multiyear signings. Mafe and Cook – both 2022 second-round picks and recent Super Bowl champions – each received three-year contracts that placed them in the middle pay class at their respective positions.

Mafe, 27, actually saw his production decrease over the past three seasons with the Seahawks. He posted career highs virtually across the board in 2023 – 52 tackles, nine sacks, nine tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits. But his numbers dropped in 2024 before falling off a cliff in 2025, down to just 31 tackles, two sacks, four TFLs, and two QB hits.

The Seahawks had demoted him from their starting lineup last season and even dangled him in trades before last year’s deadline. After nearly completing a deadline deal with the Chiefs, the Seahawks held onto Mafe before letting him walk following Super Bowl LX.

Mafe’s advanced metrics and grades from Pro Football Focus largely remained stable, indicating a stronger performance than his counting statistics suggested. The Bengals saw enough on his tape to justify a $20MM-per-year offer.

Only $19MM was formally guaranteed, but Mafe will see $27MM by the end of the first year, per OverTheCap. That structure is its own form of security for Mafe, as the Bengals are unlikely to pay him that much for just one year of service. Instead, he should stick around in 2027, when he will earn another $16.3MM. But if Mafe does not live up to expectations in his new defense, 2028 could become a decision year for his contract. 

Cook, 27, won a championship with the Chiefs as a rookie, serving as the No. 3 safety on defense and a core contributor on special teams. He stepped into a full-time defensive role in 2023, and though he finished the season on injured reserve after hurting his ankle, he still did so with his second Super Bowl ring. 

Over the following two years, Cook started all 34 regular-season games and made 163 tackles (two for loss), intercepted two passes and tallied 11 passes defensed. In yet another similarity to Mafe, PFF’s grades and metrics provide crucial context for Cook’s performance. First came significant improvements in missed tackle rate – from 15.6% in 2023 to 6.2% in 2024 – followed by a huge jump in Cook’s grades. After 59.6 overall and 51.8 coverage marks in 2024, he received 83.3 and 83.0 grades in each category in 2025 that ranked among the league’s top five safeties.

Cook’s three-year, $40.25MM deal therefore seems like a good bit of business for the Bengals. They only guaranteed him $14MM, but this frontloaded contract will pay Cook $18MM in the first season. That should secure his spot in 2027, when he will receive another $10.55MM.

The Dexter Lawrence trade would later overshadow the Bengals’ Allen signing. Cincinnati initially pursued other interior rushers like John Franklin-Myers and Osa Odighizuwa but both were far more expensive than Allen — whom the Vikings cut along with Javon Hargrave in March.

The ex-Washington first-rounder’s run defense had slipped in recent years – including a career-high 15.7% missed tackle rate with the Vikings 2025, per PFF – but the two-time Pro Bowler can still make an impact in the pass rush. This could easily turn out to be a bargain, partially because of Lawrence’s arrival.

Allen, 31, played his best football in Washington while lined up next to 320-pound nose tackle Daron Payne, himself a Pro Bowl lineman who commanded plenty of attention from opposing offensive lines. Lawrence’s frame and reputation are bigger than Payne’s. He should draw constant double-teams and create one-on-one opportunities for Allen. Lawrence and Allen could comprise one of the best interior duos in the league, and the Bengals have some help in B.J. Hill and T.J. Slaton to form an intriguing DT quartet.

The Bengals also added Dugger and Taylor as cheap, experienced secondary depth. The former signing eventually allowed the team to part ways with Geno Stone, the former Baltimore ballhawk whose play dropped precipitously after he signed in Cincinnati in 2024. 

Extensions and restructures:

• Signed LT Orlando Brown Jr. to two-year, $32MM extension ($14MM guaranteed)
• Restructured QB Joe Burrow’s contract to create $10MM in cap space

As mentioned above, the Bengals prioritized continuity on offense this offseason. Nowhere did that loom larger than the $16MM-per-year extension handed out to Brown. The 30-year-old allowed the third-most sacks and seventh-most pressures among offensive tackles in 2025 (via PFF), his third straight year of decline since arriving in Cincinnati. Brown also committed a career-high 10 penalties.

Brown previously earned four straight Pro Bowl invites in Baltimore and Kansas City before signing a four-year, $64.09MM deal with the Bengals in 2023. But his pass block efficiency and blocking grades dropped sharply in the subsequent three seasons; he also missed six games due to a fractured fibula in 2024. 

Brown’s new $16MM AAV is roughly the same as his last despite three years of cap increases, an implicit acknowledgement of his struggles. The structure would appear to keep him in place through the 2027 season with nearly $21MM paid out in the first year and an affordable $16.02MM cap hit in the second (via OverTheCap). 

Given that the left tackle market has skyrocketed to nearly double Brown’s annual pay, the Bengals’ decision to extend him can be understood. But his age and drop in play should have raised alarms about the team’s lack of a succession plan at one of the game’s most important positions at some point this offseason.

Instead, the team is entering the regular season with Javon Foster – a Jaguars 2024 fourth-round pick who appeared in 12 games as a rookie and none since – as its No. 2 left tackle and no clear plan for the long-term future of Burrow’s blind side.

The Bengals also restructured Burrow’s contract this offseason, clearing roughly $10MM in cap space. Cincinnati’s cap management approach usually does not involve many restructures – in fact, the team would have preferred to avoid this one – but the Lawrence trade tightened its budget significantly. The Bengals did not create the maximum cap space they could have, though, instead reserving enough for in-season expenses and preserving the possibility of a veteran acquisition at the trade deadline.

Draft:

• Round 2, No. 41: Cashius Howell (DE, Texas A&M) (signed)
• Round 3, No. 72: Tacario Davis (CB, Washington) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 128 (from Texans via Lions and Jets): Connor Lew (C, Auburn) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 140 (from Jets): Colbie Young (WR, Georgia) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 189: Brian Parker II (C, Duke) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 221 (from Giants via Cowboys): Jack Endries (TE, Texas) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 226: Landon Robinson (DT, Navy) (signed)

The Bengals were projected to take a defensive playmaker with the No. 10 pick before trading for Lawrence. Edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., cornerback Mansoor Delane and safety Caleb Downs were among the top prospects mocked to Cincinnati. 

Bain would have represented an interesting investment in production off the edge after spending last year’s first-round pick on Shemar Stewart, a physical freak who recorded just 4.5 sacks in college. Bain had 9.5 sacks in 2025 alone and 20.5 across the last three seasons, but his sub-31-inch arms could have been a non-starter for Cincy’s front office.

Downs, who is poised to start in the slot for the Cowboys as a rookie, may well have ended up in the same role in Cincinnati. The versatile Ohio State safety has been compared to Ravens All-Pro Kyle Hamilton – with whom the Bengals are all too familiar – for his impact play in all parts of the defense.

Instead, the Bengals valued Lawrence’s unique skillset as a nose tackle who could consistently generate pressure in the pass rush while clogging up the middle of the field against the run. That pushed their first picks to Day 2, where Howell and Davis were the eventual headliners of the team’s 2026 draft class. 

Howell, 23, led the SEC with 14.5 sacks in 2025 and earned conference Defensive Player of the Year honors as a result. He also posted a 4.58-second 40-yard dash at the Combine that all but secured Day 2 status. At 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, he is smaller than the types of edge rushers Duke Tobin has targeted in the past. Howell’s undersized frame will probably keep him in a designated pass rusher role initially; it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the Bengals’ 4-3 base defense. 

Davis, 22, brings a unique size-speed combo with a 6-4, 194-pound frame and a 4.41-second posting in the 40-yard dash. He knows how to use his size in press and at the catch point, but his short-area movement skills are not on par with his long speed, leading to deficiencies in coverage. Davis was another departure from Tobin’s norms; he rarely prioritized size at the cornerback position in the past. 

The Bengals’ most consequential pick may have come on Day 3. Lew, who took over Auburn’s starting center job as an 18-year-old true freshman in 2023, could profile as a long-term partner for Joe Burrow at the line of scrimmage.

A torn ACL suffered midway through the 2025 season dropped his draft stock, but a redshirt year behind Bengals starter Ted Karras fits with the team’s plans. Lew can complete his full recovery and prepare to take on the starting job after Karras’ contract expires in 2027.

The rest of Cincinnati’s draft class featured Day 3 depth picks, but Robinson does stand out as the rare service academy product to crack an NFL 53-man roster. 

Other:

• Declined DE Myles Murphy’s $14.48MM fifth-year option for 2027

Murphy is the Bengals’ most disappointing draft pick in recent memory, perhaps since the team used the No. 21 pick on center Billy Price in 2018. 

Murphy went seven picks later in 2023 and contributed very little across his first two seasons. He managed just three sacks and three tackles for loss as a rookie and began his second year on injured reserve due to a knee injury. He came off IR in October but produced zero sacks and one tackle for loss in the remaining 13 games, despite playing more snaps than the year before. 

But 2025 brought some encouraging play when Murphy stepped into a starting role after Trey Hendrickson went down for the season. The Clemson product finished the year with 52 tackles, 5.5 sacks, six TFLs, 10 QB hits and three passes defended, more than doubling his career statistics up to that point. 

Heading into the year, declining Murphy’s fifth-year option seemed like a foregone conclusion. But he stayed under the playtime requirements to upgrade the option from the basic level, keeping it at $14.48MM for the 2027 season – not a bad price considering the continued explosion in edge rusher pay.

The Bengals, though, had already invested in other options at the position and passed on the 2027 Murphy guarantee. That turns 2026 into a contract year for the 24-year-old defensive lineman, who stands to earn tens of millions of dollars in free agency if he takes another step forward.

Top 10 cap charges for 2026:

1. Joe Burrow, QB: $37.6MM
2. Tee Higgins, WR: $26.51MM
3. Ja’Marr Chase, WR: $26.17MM
4. Orlando Brown Jr., LT: $19.29MM
5. Boye Mafe, DE: $17MM
6. Dexter Lawrence, DT: $15.33MM
7. Dax Hill, CB: $12.68MM
8. B.J. Hill, DT: $12.12MM
9. Bryan Cook, S: $10.67MM
10. Jonathan Allen, DT: $9.75MM

Missing the playoffs for three straight years should place at least one of Zac Taylor and Duke Tobin on the hot seat entering the 2026 season. A closer look at the Bengals’ moves reveals a clear dichotomy that could reflect their end-of-season intentions: continuity on offense and investment on defense. 

The offense is Taylor’s unit, built over the last several years to fit his scheme and personnel specifications. This offseason, Cincinnati extended its left tackle, re-signed its right guard and backup quarterback, and otherwise left the offense largely untouched. The big front office moves came on defense. Five starters either left or joined the unit in free agency, followed by the blockbuster move for Lawrence in April. After trading his first-round pick for a veteran defender, Tobin then used his second- and third-rounders on defense, too. 

Does this mean that a strong offense and weak defense will result in Tobin’s firing at the end of the season, or vice versa for Taylor? Such decisions are rarely that simple. But Tobin seemingly taking ownership of the defense with his offseason moves is notable, especially with so much of the same on Taylor’s side of the ball. 

Will Burrow and Chase spend another year trying desperately to win shootouts, or can Cincinnati finally find a semblance of balance and get back to the postseason?